K-12 Curriculum Overview

• NYSED Arts Standards

It is the mission of the Williamsville Art program to ensure that through the study of art, all students will:

• Build a vital relationship with the arts that supports the development of independent, critical thought
• Have lives rich in meaning and expression
• Learn to visually communicate in their own unique way, through creating works of art
• Learn to critically analyze, interpret, and judge visual imagery in a rapidly changing world
• Discover the opportunities available as a lifelong participant and supporter of the arts

Each year, the Art Department presents a District-wide student art show, which celebrates over 300 student works.

Our K-4 curriculum provides all students with unique hands-on experiences to create, present, respond, and connect with art and its role in our lives. In alignment with the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts, students will develop foundational skills through various media and art making approaches and exploration.

The Williamsville middle level art curriculum includes unique hands-on opportunities for all students while celebrating the works and influences of various artists throughout history. In alignment with the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts, students in grades 5-8 explore and develop skills in drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and art criticism.
 

High school students have the opportunity to choose from over 10 art courses, all of which satisfy the NYS one-unit arts graduation requirement. 

Course offerings include: 

• Studio In Art
• Photography
• Drawing & Painting
• Sculpture & Ceramics
• Graphic Design
• Animation
• Art Portfolio
• AP Art and Design
• Exploring Art

Additional dual credit and advanced placement courses are also available in Art for all students.
 

• NYSED Business and Marketing Standards
• NBEA Business Standards

The goal of the Williamsville Business and Marketing program is to provide students with the skills, attitudes, and competencies to be successful in post-secondary studies, the workforce, and as adult consumers. 

Our unique business courses allow students to explore career and higher education interests. Students can gain knowledge and develop skills in finance, marketing, management, entrepreneurship, accounting, communications and business technology.

Our Business courses allow students to gain knowledge and develop skills in finance, marketing, management, entrepreneurship, accounting, communications, and business technology. Additional opportunities include Work Experience (GEWEP), Internships (CEIP), and Student Leadership Programs (DECA/FBLA).

• NYSED Computer Science Standards

In today's dynamic landscape, spanning from 3-D animation to engineering, music to app development, and from medicine to visual design, computer science serves as the driving force behind technology, productivity, and innovation worldwide. As such, computer education has evolved into a necessity for both present-day students and the future workforce. According to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for computer and information technology occupations is expected to surge significantly faster than the average for all professions from 2022 to 2032. With approximately 377,500 openings forecasted annually on average, this growth reflects both expanding employment opportunities and the necessity to fill vacancies left by departing workers. Furthermore, these new positions offer notably higher-than-average compensation rates.

Source: US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics

Williamsville offers four full-year computer science courses, allowing students to take a computer science course in each year of their high school journey. Students who successfully complete a computer science course will earn one unit of high school credit. Additionally, juniors and seniors have the choice to enroll any of our computer science courses through Niagara University's NUSTEP program. By opting into this program, students pay a highly reduced tuition, and may earn 3 college credits.

• NYSED Engineering and Technology Standards

Technology is pervasive in all aspects of our lives. So much of human activity is dependent upon the products, systems, and processes created to help grow food, provide shelter, communicate, work, and play. As the world continues to grow more complex, it is vital for everyone to understand more about technology and engineering. People need to explore technology’s impacts on their lives, on society, and on the environment, as well as how to use and develop technological products, systems, and processes to extend human capabilities.

The Williamsville Engineering & Technology Department prides itself on the diversity of courses offered.  Engineering & Technology Education is a “hands-on” program designed around an investigative problem-solving approach in a laboratory equipped with modern technological tools, equipment and devices.
 

New to the District in September 2022, our elementary school STEAM labs provide students the opportunity to get hands-on experience with science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. These STEAM labs empower our students to become lifelong learners and passionate problem solvers, working continuously to make sense of the world around them.

In 5th and 6th grade, engineering and technology is woven into science learning. Students explore topics in life science, physical science, and Earth and space science, using science and engineering practices to build a deeper understanding of science topics and to design solutions to challenges presented within the curriculum.

In seventh and eighth grades, students will learn about how engineering and technology affects daily life and how it is shaping our future. Through a hands-on, project-based learning approach, students will examine engineering and technology through an exploration of  Bio-technology, Physical technology, and Information/Communication technology. 
 

At the high school level, the Engineering and Technology Education (ETE) department offers a wide variety of courses that have been designed to meet the needs of students of all academic levels. The Engineering and Technology Education courses are designed to be taught through highly motivational, hands-on, investigative problem solving activities and experiences.

In addition to the standard ETE Curriculum, we offer Project Lead the Way® (PLTW), a national pre-engineering program designed for students who are interested in an engineering, architecture, manufacturing, or other technology related career. PLTW courses are offered through Rochester Institute of Technology and are taught by certified high school teachers.

• NYSED English Language Arts Standards

Our comprehensive K-12 English Language Arts and Reading program addresses the NYS Learning Standards for ELA, and provides rich instructional opportunities for all students in reading, writing, listening, speaking, and language development. Our student-centered literacy approach supports differentiation, nurtures the individual needs of all learners, and celebrates student growth and success. The goal and mission of our program is to provide our students with a deep and rich foundation in literacy and communication skills, and to foster and cultivate a love of reading and writing.

Our English Language Arts program at the elementary level addresses the NYS learning standards through all of the following primary components: reader’s and writer’s workshop, phonemic awareness and phonics instruction, vocabulary/word study/spelling instruction, handwriting instruction, comprehension, fluency and grammar instruction. We value the unique learning styles and skills of our youngest learners, and our comprehensive program addresses the needs of all students, and provides supports to ensure that all students can be successful.

Our English Language Arts program at the middle school level addresses the NYS learning standards with the continued development of strong reading, writing, listening, speaking, and language skills. Students build upon their foundational skills acquired in English Language Arts at the elementary level, and continue to grow as readers and writers through choice, increasingly complex texts, and engagement. Our comprehensive program addresses the needs of all learners, and provides supports to ensure all students can be successful.  

Our English Language Arts program at the high school level addresses the NYS learning standards with greater sophistication and autonomy. Students develop their reading, writing, listening, speaking, and language skills through a variety of pathways, including: Regents-level courses, Honors-level courses, Advanced Placement courses, Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA) dual-credit courses, and high-interest electives. Our comprehensive program addresses the needs of all learners, and provides support to ensure all students can be successful.

• NYSED English as a New Language Standards

The mission of the Williamsville Central Schools English as a New Language (ENL) Program is to create a learning rich environment for English language learners, through English language acquisition and academic achievement.  Click to learn more about the ENL program’s Essential Elements, Units of Study, and Assessment: English as a New Language

• NYSED Family and Consumer Sciences Standards

Family and Consumer Sciences education provides our middle level students with foundational life skills to manage the challenges of living and working in a diverse global society.

As part of the Middle Level Career and Technical Education requirement, the Williamsville FACS program focuses on career and community, financial and consumer literacy, health and wellness, interpersonal relationships, sustainability, communication, problem solving, and innovation. These themes empower our students to explore opportunities beyond the classroom through character-building activities and hands-on learning experiences.

• NYSED School Library Services

The Williamsville Central School District is committed to providing open intellectual and physical access to materials in a variety of formats that support the curricular, personal interest, and enrichment needs of students and staff. Librarians, in alignment with District policy on collection development, select and organize diverse resources including a variety of print and digital materials housed in the library, and digital resources available through library websites or WITS pages. School library home pages provide links to pre-selected websites, online databases, and digital texts that are accessible 24 hours a day.

• NYSED Mathematics Standards

Using the New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics as a foundation, the Williamsville Central School District has developed a highly coherent math curriculum using research-based strategies that emphasizes depth over breadth with a focus on building students' number sense, math fact fluency, and problem solving skills. Our curriculum is more than a collection of activities; it is highly coherent, focused, and well-articulated across the grades with the goal of preparing students to think critically, problem solve, innovate, communicate, and collaborate. We believe that students must learn mathematics with understanding by actively building new knowledge from experience and prior knowledge.

Our elementary approach to mathematics is to develop children’s mathematical thinking and reasoning abilities through age-appropriate
problems and investigations in the areas of number, operations, algebraic thinking, measurement, data, and geometry. Some of these problems and investigations grow out of ventures into everyday life—reading stories, playing games, drawing pictures, building structures, making collections, and conducting simple hands-on science experiments—while others delve more deeply into the world of mathematics itself. Students are encouraged to explore, develop, test, discuss, and apply ideas: to see mathematics as  something that is fluid, vibrant, creative, and relevant.

Click HERE to launch our "Supporting Math at HOME" website. This site contains more information about each grade level, as well as some fun and engaging math games you can play at home with your children!

Students are required to take a full year of Mathematics in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. Middle school students have the opportunity to accelerate in mathematics beginning in seventh grade and work toward taking the Algebra 1 Regents Exam at the end of eighth grade.
Our curriculum is designed around the New York State Learning Standards for Mathematics and focuses on developing a deep understanding of math concepts, proficiency with key skills, and the ability to solve new and complex problems. The idea behind our instructional approach is not to just to do math, but also to understand how and why we do math. Students need to be engaged in dialogue and learning experiences that allow complex topics and ideas to be explored from many angles and perspectives. They also need to learn how to think and solve problems for which there is no one solution—and learn mathematical skills along the way. This content-rich approach serves as a means to advance children’s 21st-century mathematical skills —their abstract reasoning, their collaboration skills, their ability to learn from peers and through technology, and their flexibility as a learner in a dynamic learning environment.

Williamsville offers a variety of pathways and course options to meet students’ interests and requirements, including: Regents-level courses, Honors-level courses, Advanced Placement courses, Niagara University (NUSTEP) Dual-Credit courses, and electives such as Pre-Calculus, Statistics, and Math Connections. In addition, Williamsville works in partnership with the University at Buffalo’s Gifted Math Program, offering students further avenues to obtain college credits. Students planning to further their formal education beyond high school should engage in four years of mathematics coursework.

Students are required to successfully complete a minimum of three years of high school mathematics and achieve a passing grade on one Regents Mathematics Exam (i.e., Algebra 1, Geometry, or Algebra 2) or one Regents Exam Equivalent. Students pursuing the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation will need to achieve a passing grade on all three Regents Mathematics Exams. An additional "Mastery of Mathematics" endorsement is awarded for achieving a minimum score of 85 on each of the three Regents Exams. Students can also earn an honors endorsement by completing the requirements for either the Regents Diploma or the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation and achieving a computed average of 90 or above on all Regents Examinations applicable to their diploma type (no rounding up is permitted).

CALCULATORS: Graphing calculators are required for all high school mathematics courses. They will be used in lessons, assignments, and assessments throughout the year to develop students’ mathematical reasoning and technology skills to aid in problem-solving. If purchasing a graphing calculator, the mathematics department recommends the TI-84 Plus or TI-84 Plus CE models because it is acceptable on all Regents Math Exams, as well as the ACT and SAT tests.

• NYSED Arts Standards

The mission of the Williamsville Central School District Music Department is to teach all students human connection, creativity, and expression and to inspire a legacy of learning and life-long appreciation for the Arts through our own love of music.

The K-4 classroom music program provides a basis for understanding the elements of music. Concepts are divided into the following categories that range from pitch, rhythm, and instruments to music literacy, history, music expression, and audience etiquette. 

All fourth grade students are offered the opportunity to sing in Chorus or begin instrumental instruction by joining the Orchestra or Band.

The middle level music program is designed to enhance music skills and advance understanding of music fundamentals.

All students are offered the opportunity to join Orchestra, Band, and/or Chorus. As a member of these ensembles, students receive weekly small group lessons and participate in several performance opportunities throughout the year.

At the high school level, there are several performing ensembles and music courses available, all of which satisfy the NYS one-unit arts graduation requirement. 

These include:

• Orchestra
• Band
• Chorus
• Jazz Ensemble
• Jazz Improvisation
• Music Theory
• AP Music Theory
• Music In Our Lives

Additional dual credit and advanced placement courses are also available in Music for all students.
 

• NYSED Physical Education Standards
• NYSED Health Standards

The Physical Education Program is a comprehensive K-12 articulated program that focuses on movement, activity, and knowledge that will promote lifelong healthy lifestyles in students.  All physical education activities K-12 are designed according to the New York State Physical Education Learning Standards.  These standards provide the district with a common understanding for teachers to use when planning and implementing physical education activities.

All elementary physical education experiences are grouped into six major categories: Balance, Gross Motor, Travel Rhythms, Motor Skills and Health Related Fitness.  All of these experiences contribute to student growth in skill development, positive values and attitudes toward physical activity and cognitive knowledge in health related concepts.  The initial K-4 elementary physical education is articulated to middle school and high school commence

All activities in the middle school physical education program are categorized in eight major categories: Target Sports, Team Passing Sports, Dance and Rhythms, Net and Wall Sports, Outdoor Activities, Fitness Activities, Personal Performance, Striking and Fielding Sports. In addition a major focus of the middle school physical education program is the teaching and understanding of health related concepts.  Extensive fitness testing is needed not only to assess fitness but to have students learn what they need to promote fitness in their lives. 

Health

This is a unique course mandated by the NYS Health Department that includes Substance Abuse, Human Reproduction, Eating Disorders, Diseases, Mental Health, Self-Esteem, Decision Making, Stress Reduction and Physical Fitness. Students attend classes on alternate days throughout the eighth grade year.

High school students are required  to successfully complete 2 credits of physical education to qualify for graduation.  Students are expected to successfully complete a half credit of physical education each year during high school.  Activities are grouped into eight major categories: Target Sports, Team Passing Sports, Dance and Rhythms, Net and Wall Games, Outdoor Activities, Fitness Activities, Personal Performance, Striking and Fielding Sports. It is the goal of the high school physical education staff to have students that graduate understand how to develop personal fitness plans that will keep them fit and healthy throughout life. 

Health

This course focuses on personal health and is designed to allow students to meet their graduation requirement in health education. As defined by the New York State Education Department, students need to learn, practice and apply skills successfully to maintain personal health and safety. The seven personal and social skills that students need to know to be healthy are self-management, relationship management, stress management, communication, planning and goal setting,
decision making and advocacy.

In addition, students will gain functional knowledge in human growth and development, mental health, nutrition, sexual health education, diseases and disorders, substance abuse, and healthful lifestyles, There will be a district final exam.

• NYSED Science Standards

The Williamsville Central School District’s Science Curriculum has its foundation in the National Science Education Standards and in the New York State Learning Standards for Science. These new standards are based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) with the clear understanding that a robust science education will pave the way for increased opportunities in college, as well as in future careers.

These new science standards enable teachers to offer all students interactive instruction that promotes analysis and interpretation of data, critical thinking, problem solving, and connections across science disciplines— with a high set of expectations for achievement in all grades.

Students in grades K-4 increase and advance their knowledge of Science-related concepts and skills through active participation in group work and phenomenon-based inquiry projects.

In middle school, students will continue to develop a greater capacity for connecting knowledge across, and between, the physical sciences, life sciences, earth and space sciences, and engineering design.
During grades 5–8, students begin to form deeper connections between concepts previously learned in grades K–4, such as collecting evidence and drawing conclusions, understanding relationships between objects, and critical thinking that leads to designing effective solutions for problems.

Science at the Commencement Level (9 - 12) is centered around engagement in the major themes from the New York State Science Core Curricula and the application of the science and engineering practices learned in grades k-8.  In each course, students will study the content in-depth.  These courses end with the administration of the appropriate Regents Exam:

• Earth Science
• Living Environment
• Chemistry
• Physics

Nonregents science classes are also offered, such as Environmental Science, General Chemistry, General Physics, and Forensic Science.
 

Throughout the school year, students and staff are able to utilize the Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium, a multimedia theater and classroom that brings you closer to the cosmos!  Fly around the solar system, visit planets around another star, tour the galaxy, or even go beyond to see deep space data sets all the way out to the edge of the observable universe.

The Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium also features SkyLase, a full dome, full-color laser projection system, bringing vibrant laser shows and graphics to Williamsville!

Planetarium

• NYSED Social Studies Standards

Social Studies is intended to promote civic competence through the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities. The primary purpose of Social Studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world (adapted from the National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS] definition of Social Studies).

K-4 Social Studies introduces students to civics/government, economics, geography, and history. Curriculum progresses from an individual’s place within different levels of communities, addresses links from self and family to school and world communities, and culminates with an in-depth study of New York State and local history. 

5-8 Social Studies bridges elementary and middle level content and skills. Grade 5 curriculum is an in-depth study of the Western Hemisphere, with a focus on geography. Grade 6 content focuses on the Eastern Hemisphere—early man through 1450. A two-year study of American history culminates middle level social studies.

Each high school student is required to successfully complete 4 units of social studies. These 4 units include 1 unit of Global History and Geography I, 1 unit of Global History and Geography II (or AP equivalent), 1 unit of United States History and Government (or AP equivalent), ½ unit of Participation in Government (or AP equivalent), and ½ unit of Economics (or AP equivalent). In addition to required courses, diverse elective offerings allow students to develop their strengths and expand on their interests.

• NYSED World Languages Standards

The Williamsville School District’s World Language program is built on the NYS Learning Standards for World Languages, developed under the guidance of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Our program aims to provide students with learner-centered classrooms that emphasize an authentic communicative approach that incorporates cultural exploration. The purpose of our World Languages program is to:

• Cultivate an awareness of, and sensitivity to other languages and cultures in order to broaden an individual’s world and to promote personal growth.
• Give students language skills so that they are able to communicate in an interdependent world.

Formal study of French or Spanish begins in grade five. We emphasize increasing the ability of students to communicate through listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The goal is for students to use appropriate strategies  to engage in interpersonal dialogue, and to comprehend the main ideas of extended conversations. Also integral to the program  is the study of the culture relating to each language.  Our students take district assessments in grades seven and eight.
Starting in the Fall of 2023, Checkpoint A courses began to align to the NYSED Revised Learning Standards for World Languages.  This will continue until full implementation is reached through grade 12 in Fall 2028.

Upon entering grade nine, students are encouraged to continue at the second level of language started in middle school, and/or begin level one of another language.  French, German, Latin, Mandarin and Spanish are offered based on sufficient enrollment levels. German, Latin, and Mandarin courses offered in high school reflect the first offered coursework for those languages, and align to skills for Checkpoint A. When students reach the appropriate level of proficiency, they take the Checkpoint B assessment. Checkpoint B skills include differentiating tense forms, initiating and responding to more complex statements and questions, and writing on a variety of topics. Continued advanced study further refines, develops and enhances a given language beyond the standard Checkpoint B.
For students taking French and Spanish, courses offering dual credit through Niagara University’s NUStep program for 4a and 5a courses, typically taken during grades 11 and 12, respectively.